


I can’t imagine this world without you

by Schreibmaschine



Series: Archive for my tumblr prompts [19]
Category: Assassin's Creed - All Media Types, Prototype (Video Games)
Genre: Assassin's Creed III Spoilers, Desmond Miles Lives, End of the World, Fix-It of Sorts, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-22
Updated: 2020-11-22
Packaged: 2021-03-09 17:49:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27670262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Schreibmaschine/pseuds/Schreibmaschine
Summary: It is the end of the World and Desmond has a destiny to fulfill. Alex is not having it.
Relationships: Alex Mercer/Desmond Miles
Series: Archive for my tumblr prompts [19]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1954156
Kudos: 43





	I can’t imagine this world without you

**Author's Note:**

> This was published on my tumblr @fandom-necromancer!

The world was ending. The bridge built itself in front of him while his friends were hopefully running for their lives to escape the collapsing cave. They didn’t know he wouldn’t survive this. Maybe they had some clues it would, but they didn’t know it for sure.

But Desmond knew.

He would put his hand on the pedestal waiting for him and he would save the world – and die in the process. Not that he was afraid. Not that he allowed himself to feel regret. He had lived more lives than any other human on earth. He had had a full life during the crusades. He had a full life in the renaissance. He didn’t allow himself to regret never having lived his own life. That he had enjoyed only a few years as a bartender before his destiny found him. No, he kept it at bay, he shouldn’t feel that way. Altair had taught him that the lives of others were more important, even if it was just not to feel loss again knowing one could have prevented it.

And so, he walked over the bridge.

He told himself he had time. The end of the world wouldn’t wait for him to be in place, but he was ahead of schedule. He stopped in front of the pedestal. There it was: the little piece of ancient technology that would save the world and end his life. One life for many. A more than fair exchange. He looked at his hand, wondering if it would hurt. Would it disintegrate him? Would there be a body? Would he feel it? Would he be remembered? To be entirely honest, he hoped he wouldn’t be. He never wanted to be a hero, never had seen himself as one. He didn’t want his friends to mourn, to lose themselves in grief. Their fight wouldn’t stop simply because the end of the world had been prevented. There would still be pieces of Eden, there would still be templars. Desmond wanted them to have a good life when he was gone. A good, long and relatively peaceful life. He would try having these thoughts in mind when establishing the connection. Maybe it would be easier then. Looking death in the eye.

He raised his hand.

‘Stop!’ A whirling mass of black and red came jumping through the rubble only barely recognisable as a vaguely human shape. Before the shield the twirling ball of tendrils stopped, regaining human form and panting heavily as if worn out by a sprint across states. ‘Desmond. Stop!’

Desmond let his hand hover over the pedestal. ‘Alex, what are you doing here?’  
‘I… am… keeping you… from…’ He took a deep breath, hoping to speak more continuously. ‘From touching that damned thing!’  
‘Alex. I need to do this!’ Desmond hated this. He had been relieved knowing the other’s far away. Maybe he was selfish, but he really didn’t want these conversations. He wanted to die alone, not having to worry about their hearts being broken.  
‘You will die, Desmond!’  
‘I know, Alex. I fucking know that. It is the price to pay for the world.’  
Alex seemed to be taken aback by the fact that he knew. ‘And who the hell decided it was your price to pay?’  
‘Who decided that I was to see the messages in the animus left by the Iso? It is fate Alex. I know you don’t believe it, but it is my destiny to be here, to follow the plan.’  
‘That’s bullshit! Even if it was their plan all along, it is an awful plan. They made this all possible, dictated their destiny for you. For what? What are you telling me? That your destiny is to die?’  
‘Yes, Alex. I have to die right here, right now. To save the world.’  
‘I can’t accept that!’ Alex reformed his claws and began to try and break the force field. Desmond had to watch as the biomass fizzled and evaporated on contact.

‘Alex!’ The virus whipped at the same place to break through, wear the wall down. ‘Alex, stop!’ Desmond couldn’t handle the despair at seeing Alex hurting himself. Hurting himself in the dying wish to safe him from his destiny, to safe him from certain death. Just to see the world burn down in the solar flare that would break through the earth’s magnetic field only minutes from now. ‘Alex, please! You have to stop! It won’t let you through. You have to be one of them, have to have the genetic code!’

The virus in front of the forcefield stopped, arms resting against the barrier, red vapor steaming off the connecting surfaces. Then Alex sank down to his knees. Vulnerable. Something only Desmond got to see.  
‘I don’t want to lose you, Desmond. I… I can’t imagine this world without you. What would it be worth? I don’t want to lose the only friend I have.’

Desmond turned away from the pedestal, the impending doom suddenly not as important anymore. He got down opposite to the virus, the white glistening wall between them. ‘Hey.’ Alex looked up. His face the usual deathly white, but his eyes pale, evidence of his despair. ‘It will be alright, okay? You have Dana. You can stay with the assassins.’  
‘You know I don’t!’ There was the anger. Of course, there was anger. It was all Alex had ever known: aggression and indifference. ‘I can’t stay with anyone. You are the only one that ever looked at me – the real me – and not even flinched. You are the only one who doesn’t fear me. The only one that remotely knows what _Chaos_ there is in my mind! I can’t. I really can’t live without you, Desmond. Fuck the world, okay? Maybe humans don’t deserve to survive this.’  
‘Alex, I am human. Maybe you would even survive this blast, but no human would. I can’t do this. I have to fulfil my role and I am sorry, but you won’t change that. I would change it if I could, believe me.’  
Alex let his head sink down and Desmond felt terrible. More than everything else he wanted to pull the virus close and hug his narrow body. But he just extended an arm through the forcefield and pushed the other’s face up. He wanted to tell Alex something encouraging but didn’t have the chance.

‘I’m sorry.’  
‘Alex, what do you mean, you-‘  
He couldn’t say another word because a bone-shattering scream blocked his throat. Alex had grabbed his wrist and with a feeling of being burned and electrocuted at the same time black ichor flooded his veins and curled around his arm. Alex lost his form and a swarm of his liquified biomass pressed itself through his bloodstream just to break out through his cells and vessels to the surface. In a flash of pain, Alex stood next to him again, on the other side of the wall. He hugged him, while Desmond was still thinking about what happened, looking at his numb hand.  
‘Alex, what did you do? What… You didn’t infect me, did you?’  
‘Desmond, I’m sorry. It… I’m pulling at straws right now. Maybe this will work, and I can protect you. I… I am desperate.’  
‘Alex, calm down. What are you planning?’  
‘Best case? You will save the world, we will both survive, but you will most likely be infected.’  
‘And worst case?’  
‘We will both die and whatever weird DNA-scanner operates this thing won’t even detect you. End of the world.’  
‘How?’  
‘I will merge my cells with yours and repair your material while the contact to the pedestal will destroy it.’  
Desmond thought about it, while the seconds of his destiny ticked away. There was a chance everything would be good. Well, considering the circumstances at least not as bad. There was a chance. Was he selfish enough to take it?

‘Okay. Let’s do it.’  
‘It’ll hurt like hell.’  
‘I think this much I understand. Just do it. Let’s hope for the best.’  
Alex coated his hand in his biomass, leaving only the palm open for contact. Then Desmond pressed it down on the pedestal.

A connected scream filled the grand temple under Turin on the 21st December 2012.  
The world continued to exist.  
Humans continued to live their life.  
Humanity lost one of their members.

The virus population however went up by one.

**Author's Note:**

> You can prompt a story like this yourself if you want! Just head over to my tumblr @fandom-necromancer, message me on twitter @Schreibmachin4 or contact me in any way!


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